MSNBC
DES MOINES, Iowa - Alison Lacey came through when Iowa State needed her the most.Lacey hit a running shot in the lane with 47.4 seconds left and added two free throws to lift Iowa State past Georgia Tech 58-55 Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament in the Greensboro Regional.
The seventh-seeded Cyclones (21-12) built a 13-point lead in the second half behind freshman Kelsey Bolte’s long-range shooting, then hung on at the end to advance to a second-round game Monday night against the Rutgers-Robert Morris winner.
Jill Ingram hit two 3-pointers in an 11-2 run that drew 10th-seeded Georgia Tech (22-10) to 52-50, and the Yellow Jackets trailed 54-53 when Jacqua Williams scored on a follow shot with 2:43 to play.Tech then misfired on two chances to take the lead, Williams getting her shot blocked by Jocelyn Anderson and Alex Montgomery missing an open 3-point attempt.
That’s when Lacey delivered, spinning in the lane for a bucket with 1 second on the shot clock to put ISU up 56-53. After Ingram scored on an easy drive down the lane to make it a one-point game again, Williams fouled Lacey going for a steal with 12 seconds left and the sophomore from Canberra, Australia, made both free throws. She finished with nine points.
Williams missed a 3-point shot while closely guarded by Lacey, and Iowa State tipped the Yellow Jackets’ final shot, sending the Cyclones into the next round.
Bolte hit five straight 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 19 points to lead Iowa State, which improved to 7-2 in first-round games. Anderson scored 12 points and Amanda Nisleit added 11 points and 12 rebounds.
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